Chapter 1523: Different Treatment

Lu Ye observed for a while, realizing it was entirely a matter of luck with no discernible pattern. Some individuals, who looked sly and untrustworthy, emerged from the Wheel of Fortune completely unharmed. In contrast, others who appeared righteous and proud came out looking utterly miserable. It had no relation to one's cultivation level either.

"Let's go in," Lu Ye said softly. Li Shang, who had been standing by his side, immediately activated her Soul Attachment Secret Art, attaching herself to him.

Lu Ye put away his starship and then walked directly into the dilapidated bronze disk. Ripples spread out as if he had plunged into water. When Lu Ye regained his senses, he found himself in a misty space.

There was nothing else in the space except a human-height illusory bronze disk standing before him. It looked identical to the giant bronze disk outside, but was clearly complete. The disk was engraved with various strange and peculiar patterns, each extremely tiny, numbering perhaps no less than a hundred thousand. Even stranger, these patterns were constantly changing, giving rise to even more.

Li Shang then released her soul attachment state, appearing beside Lu Ye. She curiously examined the bronze disk before her. It was her first time seeing the Wheel of Fortune, so she naturally found it novel.

Lu Ye knew how to activate the Wheel of Fortune. Since there was no pattern and it was purely a matter of luck, there was nothing to hesitate about. Lu Ye had always felt his luck was quite good. He immediately circulated his mystic art, forcing out a drop of his vital essence blood, and flicked it towards the bronze disk.

To spin the Wheel of Fortune, one's own vital essence blood must be used as a trigger. Furthermore, each time the Wheel of Fortune appears, a cultivator only gets one chance to spin it. After spinning once, they must wait until the next appearance of the Wheel of Fortune. The vital essence blood, which contained immense energy, landed on the bronze disk and was absorbed completely in the blink of an eye.

And then... nothing happened!

Lu Ye stared in astonishment at the unmoving bronze disk, somewhat bewildered. According to the records he had seen, after the bronze disk absorbed a cultivator's vital essence blood, it would begin to spin, and the patterns on it would flash erratically. Once the disk stopped spinning, the pattern that remained lit would determine the corresponding good or bad fortune for the cultivator. But what did it mean that the bronze disk absorbed his vital essence blood and then remained completely still? Was this thing broken?

He didn't think so. It was, after all, a supreme treasure of the starry sky; how could it be broken? Moreover, so many cultivators had participated. Although Lu Ye hadn't seen them participate, it was clear that many had received benefits. How could it possibly break just when it was his turn? Yet, no matter how long he waited, the bronze disk showed no reaction at all.

Lu Ye turned his head to Li Shang. "You try it!"

Even if Lu Ye hadn't said anything, Li Shang intended to try. It was a rare occurrence not to be missed. However, the Soul Race's physique was unique; their bodies were ethereal yet solid, lacking vital essence blood. But the Soul Race had similar methods. A highly pure soul force suddenly separated from Li Shang's body and entered the bronze disk. Then, Li Shang pressed her hands together, her expression devout, and prayed toward the disk, muttering something under her breath.

Lu Ye scoffed at the sight. It was entirely a matter of luck; it would be strange if Li Shang's actions had any effect. Moreover, it seemed the bronze disk itself had an issue, so whether it could even be used was questionable. To Lu Ye's astonishment, as Li Shang's pure soul force was absorbed by the bronze disk, the disk actually began to spin rapidly. At the same time, the numerous patterns on it started to flash on and off at an extremely fast pace.

This thing wasn't broken! So why couldn't he activate it? Lu Ye couldn't help but feel indignant.

The bronze disk's spinning speed gradually slowed, while the patterns flashed on and off even more frequently and changed more rapidly. Correspondingly, Li Shang's expression became even more devout. A moment later, when the spinning bronze disk stabilized, a single pattern on it shone brightly. Immediately afterward, a stream of light shot out from that pattern, directly into Li Shang's body.

Li Shang's body trembled slightly, and then a look of joy appeared on her face. Seeing this, Lu Ye immediately knew she had received some benefit, though he wasn't sure what exactly it was, and it was awkward to ask.

Li Shang, however, had no intention of hiding anything. With a flip of her small hand, a bronze ring appeared in her palm. A strangely eerie aura emanated from within the bronze ring.

"A soul artifact?" Lu Ye's eyes widened. He could tell that this bronze ring was no ordinary soul artifact; it was very likely a Dharma treasure-level soul artifact! Compared to ordinary treasures, soul artifacts were already much more valuable and rare, let alone a Dharma treasure-level soul artifact. This item was a priceless and virtually unobtainable treasure. Moreover, it was different from ordinary Dharma treasures. An ordinary Dharma treasure, when in the hands of a Star Host, could not be activated because spirit energy was insufficient to power it; only Dharma power could. However, a Star Host could activate a Dharma treasure-level soul artifact, though the power it unleashed would be somewhat reduced.

He had put in his vital essence blood, and the bronze disk hadn't moved an inch, yet Li Shang had obtained such an impressive soul artifact. The contrast was simply a world apart.

Could it be that the posture for injecting the vital essence blood was wrong? Lu Ye suddenly had an idea. He didn't bother to envy Li Shang, but instead forced out another drop of vital essence blood and put it into the bronze disk. Then, mimicking Li Shang, he pressed his hands together and prayed solemnly. He squinted his eyes into slits, secretly observing the bronze disk's reaction. Yet, the thing remained as still as before!

Lu Ye's face darkened. He had always believed his luck wasn't too bad, but now he couldn't even activate the bronze disk. This was utterly illogical.

Li Shang, suppressing a laugh, comforted Lu Ye, "Although you didn't get good fortune, you also didn't suffer misfortune. I heard many people enter here and indeed gain nothing."

"I don't believe it!" Lu Ye said with a dark expression. It was true that many people gained nothing from the Wheel of Fortune—neither good nor bad—but it was impossible for this disk to show no reaction at all. Lu Ye felt as though he was being targeted. But he couldn't understand why this was happening. Not giving up, he forced out another drop of vital essence blood. This time, Lu Ye's posture was even more devout than before, but it still had no effect. Staring bitterly at the bronze disk before him, Lu Ye would have long since slashed at it with his sword if he hadn't been wary of it being a supreme treasure of the starry sky with mysterious and unpredictable powers.

"Let's go!" Lu Ye called to Li Shang and turned around. He had tried three times without any reaction from the bronze disk. There was no need to try further, as losing too much vital essence blood would also affect his body.

Unexpectedly, just as he turned around, he suddenly felt a tap on the back of his head. It didn't hurt, but it made Lu Ye feel as if he was facing a great enemy, and he quickly turned back around. With a "ding-dong" sound, Lu Ye looked in the direction of the sound, only to find an extra item on the ground. Upon closer inspection, the item looked like a white jade pear, but it wasn't a real pear. Looking even closer, it didn't seem like a pear at all, as it had many sound holes.

Lu Ye frowned, looking at the object on the ground and then at the Wheel of Fortune in front of him, momentarily confused about what was happening. There was no doubt that this white jade pear came from the Wheel of Fortune; otherwise, it wouldn't have hit him on the back of the head. But he clearly hadn't spun the Wheel of Fortune, so how did this thing appear?

"Is it for me?" Lu Ye looked at the disk with some suspicion. Most supreme treasures of the starry sky possessed their own sentience. The Reincarnation Tree was an obvious example, and even the Star Palace, though it had never communicated with Lu Ye, had its own sentience. So Lu Ye surmised the Wheel of Fortune also possessed sentience. Lu Ye truly couldn't understand why, if he couldn't activate the Wheel of Fortune, it would still give him such an item.

Naturally, he received no response. After waiting for a while and confirming that the white jade pear had no abnormalities, Lu Ye bent down and picked it up. Once he held it, Lu Ye finally saw clearly that it wasn't a white jade pear at all, but a xun, a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument. Its material wasn't white jade either, but an unknown beast bone.

After a deep gaze at the bronze disk, Lu Ye couldn't delve deeper into the matter and could only leave the place with Li Shang for now.

Outside the Wheel of Fortune, it was still as bustling as ever, with countless cultivators coming and going. Some were beaming with joy, while others were utterly miserable. It was truly a mix of happiness and sorrow. He summoned his starship and flew into the depths of the starry sky, gradually moving away from the bustling area. He took out the star map given to him by the Reincarnation Tree and examined it, checking it against the four cardinal star positions to ensure he wouldn't deviate from his course. This was an essential method for traveling in the starry sky, as even a slight deviation in course would inevitably lead to a massive error.

Lu Ye's destination was not to cross the entire Changyun galaxy, but to go to a dead star within it. This was his first stop on his way home. As for what mysteries that dead star held, he would only know for sure once he arrived. The journey was not short. At the starship's current speed, it would take at least three months to arrive.

On the starship, Li Shang played with her newly acquired bronze ring soul artifact, her face full of delight. Although Lu Ye didn't know what miraculous power the bronze ring possessed, he knew it was definitely a good item just by looking at Li Shang's expression. Lu Ye then took out the bone xun he had received from the bronze disk to examine it. This item had a small hole at the top and several holes on the bottom, left and right. Lu Ye examined it carefully and found that he couldn't determine what level of treasure this bone xun was. This was because the item looked very ordinary and had no prohibitions whatsoever inside. He tried to channel spirit energy into it, but there was no reaction at all.

This thing... wasn't a treasure at all. It seemed to be just a toy!

Lu Ye was so angry his face contorted. It would have been fine if it had given him nothing at all. But if it was going to give something, it should have been something good. He didn't get the Phoenix Sky Blue Crystal he longed for, nor any spirit or Dharma treasures. What was the point of giving him a bone xun?

Lu Ye just felt that the Wheel of Fortune was showing too much favoritism.